Press



J. BARKHAM Sept. 6, 1955 PRESS 4 Sheets-Sheet l Filed June 11, 1952 INI/EN TOR. l /7/ BY ,M

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J. vBARKHAM sept. 6,1955

PRESS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 11. 1952 (i)l l J. BARKHAM Sept. 6, 1955 PRESS Filed June ll, 1952 J. BARKHAM Sept. 6, 1955 PRESS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June l1, 1952 JNVENTOR. gfoU/zr/zam, BW, M Ww- YM United States Patent O PRESS Joseph Barkham, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Chisholm, Boyd & White Company, a corporation of illinois Application June 11, 1952, Serial No. 292,796

10 Claims. (Cl. 74-520) density of the resulting product. Presses of this nature for producing refractory brick have been known and used, a typical example of which is shown in the Flood Patent No. 987,124. For a long period, however, operational difliculties have been experienced with presses of this nature in that the wear on the moving parts of the pres* sure applying means has been excessive. The excessive wear is due to several causes, the principal of which is the fact that some stray particles of material being pressed fall or otherwise work their way into the bearings of the pressure applying means and cause such bearings to wear out in a relatively short period of time. The Wear is of course accelerated by the fact that extremely heavy pressures are used in this type of press, with the total pressure being exerted on, for example, a refractory brick of normal size being kof the order of 6000 pounds per square inch. Where other materials are being pressed the pressures may reach as high as 100,000 pounds per square inch.

As can be expected presses of this type are of extremely heavy construction and considerable labor is entailed in replacing worn bearings. Heretofore replacement of bearings has necessitated the breaking down of the entire press, the removal by tedious methods of the worn bearings and the replacement and refitting thereof.

The loss of press time during the repair adds to the expense of the repair project as a whole.

One of the principal features of the press of this invention is that the parts arevso constructed and arranged as4 to be fully capable of producing the higher pressures required by present-day specifications and yet one in which the bearings are so constructed as to prevent the entrance of all or substantially all of any stray particles of the material being pressed into the bearings, and thus eliminates one of the major sources of bearing wear. A further feature of the press of this invention is that the bearings are so constructed as to be readily removable and replaceable so that the loss of press time during replacement of worn bearings is reduced to a minimum. it follows from the' foregoing that not only is bearing replacement required less frequently in the press of this construction, but also when required may be accomplished in less time than was heretofore necessary.

Other objects and features of the invention will be readily apparent from'the following description and drawings, in which:

. Fig. .l i'sqa side elevational view of the front of a press embodying the invention;

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Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view along line 2-2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of the upper central portion of Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section along line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section along line 5-5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detailed view of the bearing construction showing one end of the bearing;

Fig. 7 is a view like Fig. 6 showing the other end of the same bearing;

Fig. 8 is a view showing the retaining and wedging means for the bearing; y'

Fig. 9 is a View like Fig. 8 showing further details of the construction of the retaining means; and

Fig. l0 is a view showing the details of the lower crosshead construction.

While this invention is susceptible of embodiments in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail one specific embodiment, with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplication of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the inven tion to the embodiment illustrated. The scope of the invention will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the press includes a main frame 10 in which there is vertically movable a subframe 11 supported on the main frame as by a pair of springs, one of which is shown at 12, with the subframe including a pair of side bars 13 and 14. A shaft 15 is secured to the side bars and extends therebetween near the upper portion of the press. A beam 16 extends between the side bars at the bottom of the press.

Mounted in the subframe are means forming a mold 17. A lower plunger 18 carries a die plate 19 movable into the lowervportion of the mold 17 while an upper plunger carries an upper die plate 21 movable into the top of the mold. The lower plunger 1S is mounted upon a saddle 22 which is movable vertically on the lower beam 16 and resiliently urgedinto an elevated position by a compression spring 23. The operation of the spring and the consequent vertical positioning of the saddle 22 determine the position of the plunger 18 and hence of the lower die plate 19 at the time when material to be pressed is introduced into the mold, and thus by adjustment of the spring the positioning of the lower die plate may be adjusted so as to vary the quantity or volume of material introduced into the mold during the charging operation. During actual pressing operation the saddle is firmly seated upon the lower beam 16. In the particular press shown for purposes of illustrating the invention, four upper plungers 20 are provided which cooperate with four lower plungers 18 in four molds 1'7 so that four bricks are formed in each cycle of the press.

For the purposes of adjusting the spring 23 there is provided a hand wheel 24 secured to a threaded shaft 25 which carries a collar 26 vertically movable on the shaft with rotation of the hand wheel. A lever 27 has one end pivotally secured to the collar 26 and is pivoted intermediate its ends at 28 to the frame. The other end of the lever 27 is pivotally connected to a spring rod 29 which extends vertically upwardly and into engagement with the spring to vary the compression thereof.

The upper plunger 20 is rigidly secured to a crosshead 30 which is movable vertically upon swinging movement of a pair of toggle arms, the upper of which is designated 31 and the lower 32. The upper and lower toggle arms are each rotatably Asecured to an intermediate shaft 33 to form the toggle, with the lower toggle arm 32 being rotatable relative to the crosshead 30.

The press is provided with a table 34 upon which is horizontally slidable a hopper 35 adapted to contain a supply of thematerial to 'be pressed. Means are provided for reciprocating the lower Walls 36 and 37 of the hopper over the face of the table so as to carry material therein over the mold 17 when the same is open so that the material may drop by .gravity therein, with the quantity of the material falling into the mold being determined by the position at that time yof the lower die plate 19 as previously described. For the purpose of reciprocating the lower portion of the hopper there is provided a rod 38 connected `to a link 39 which in turn is pivotallysupported upon a member 40 movable `through the operation of a cam follower arm 41 connected thereto which carries a cam follower 42 riding in a cam groove 43 secured to the main drive gear 44, Motor means are provided for rotating the drive gear and thus to cause reciprocation of the hopper feeding means described.

The `upper toggle 31 is a single casting and is provided with web portions 45 as indicated and is rotatably journaled at its upper end on the shaft 15. The lower end of the upper toggle arm carries a pluralty of male and female bearings which provide a rotatable connection between the Ylower end and the lower toggle 32. Two pairs of bearings are provided in each of the toggle arms. Thus as can be seen in Figs. 3-5, the upper toggle arm carries at its right-hand side (as seen in Fig. 3) a female bearing positioned immediately adjacent a male bearing 51. Spaced from .the bearing 51 is a second male bearing 52 placed immediately adjacent a female bearing 531at the left-hand side of the toggle arm.

The lower toggle arm is provided with bearings complementary to those formed in the upper toggle arm and thus has male bearings 50a and 53a cooperating with the female bearings 50 and 53, and has female bearings 51a and 52a cooperating with the `male bearings 51 and 52.

The bearing surfaces forming the bearing justdescribed are so constructed as to be readily removable from the upper and lower toggle arms so that their replacement is a relatively simple matter. Referring now to Figs. 6 Aand 7 wherein the construction of the pair of bearings 51 and 51a is shown, it `being understood that the other pairs of bearings 50, 50a-52, 52a-53, 53a are similarly constructed, it will be noted that the upper toggle arm 31 is provided with a recessed bearing receiving portion 59 having a notch 60 formed therein in which there is seated a bearing surface 61 held therein by suitable recessed screws 62. The bearing Surface 61 may readily be removed by lremoving the screws 62 and driving the same out sideways from the bearing receiving portion 59.

The female bearing 51a is suitably seated in a conl cavely formed portion 64 formed in the lower toggle 32 and comprises a concave bearing surface 65 seated in the portion 64 and held therein by suitable securing means in the form `of a clip 66. The clip is provided at its upper surface with an integral lip portion 67 which overlies one end of the bearing surface 65 and with a flat intermediate portion through which a bolt 68 extends which is threaded into a hat faced boss 69 integrally formed on the lower toggle arm 32. At the opposite end of the bearing surface 65 a second clip 70 is provided having a lip 71 overlying such opposite end of the bearing surface 65. The clip 66 is provided with an inturned portion 72 at its lower end. Between it and the lower surface of the boss 69 there is driven a wedge 73 to seat the bearing surface 65 rmly in position. Thus when a new bearing surface 65 is to be installed the surface is positioned in the portion 64 with one end abutting the lip 71 and then the clip 66 is placed in position with its lip 67 contacting the opposite end of the bearing surface. By driving the wedge 73 the clip itself is moved downwardly sliding the bearing surface firmly into position, and when the wedge is fully driven the screws 68 may be inserted to hold the clip in position securing the bearing surface in place. The degree of movement eiected by driving in the wedge 73 may have to be varied to provide for a nice t of the bearing surface in spite of manufacturing tolerances. For this purpose a pair of screws 75 and 76 are threaded into the inturned portion 72 and adapted to guide the lower surface of the wedge 73. The precise position of the screws 75 and 76 may be varied to produce slight variations in the effect of driving the wedge so that a firm seat for the bearing surface may be assured.

Referring now to Fig. 3, it will be noted that the bearings 51 and 52 are spaced apart at the center of the toggle arms to expose the shaft 33. To this exposed portion of the shaft 33 there is secured one end of a pitman 80, the other end of which is secured to a pin 81 on the drive gear 44. The end of the pitman engaging the shaft 33 is provided with a suitable bearing 82 which substantially completely occupies the free portion of the shaft 33, that is that portion of the shaft exposed between the adjacent bearings 51 and 52. Because of the fact that the bearing 32 is so proportioned, substantially no bending moment is imparted to the shaft 33 as the `pitman 80 is reciprocated, and because of this greater pressures can be achieved without danger of deforming parts of the toggle construction.

It will be understood from the foregoing that as the pitman is reciprocated the toggle `arms are swung through dead center and thus the plunger 20 is moved into the mold under great pressures, with such pressures of course reaching their maximum as the dead center point is reached.

The lower toggle arm 32 is rotatably or pivotally mounted on the crosshead 30. In previous constructions the bearing surface between the crosshead and the lower end of the lower toggle was such as to entrap stray particles of the material being pressed thereinto, which particles produced rapid wear-on the bearing surfaces at that point. According to the present invention, however, the bearing provided between these two members is so arranged as to prevent material from entering thereinto and thus to eliminate this source of wear. To this end the crosshead is provided with an elongated, substantially cylindrical bearing member having a bearing surface 91 formed on its upper face which is removably secured to the crosshead 30 by a plurality of bolts 92. The lower end of the toggle arm 32 is provided with a female bearing surface 93 secured in a suitable concave bearing receiving surface 94 by clips 95 and 96 which are constructed in the same manner as the clips 66 and 70. Because the mating bearing surfaces extend upwardly from the crosshead, particles of the material being pressed falling by gravity cannot intervene between the mating surfaces and thus a relatively longer life for these bearing surfaces is accomplished. The female bearing surface 93 can readily be replaced, however, whenever it does be come worn because of its being constructed in the manner described.

Inasmuch as both of the bearing surfaces 91 and 93 extend through less than 180, other means must be provided for securing the crosshead 30 to the lower toggle arm in order that the crosshead may rise and fall vertically with swinging movement of the shaft 33. For this purpose the lower toggle arm is provided with integrally formed arms 97 and 97a which extend vertically downwardly from the lower toggle, each terminating in an annular female bearing 98 and 99 which encircle a shaft 100 extending through the crosshead 30 at the juncture i thereof with the bearing member 90 and coincidentally with the axis of the bearing surfaces 91 and 93. Thus as the shaft 33 is swung with reciprocation of the pitman 80 and the toggle arms are pivote-d relative to each other so as to cause vertical upward movement of the lower end of the toggle arm 32, the crosshead 30 is carried upwardly therewith through the 'connection just described.

I claim:

l. In a press having a frame, a vertical toggle construction comprising an upper toggle arm rotatably mounted at its upper end in the frame, a plurality of male bearings on the lower end of the toggle arm, a shaft rotatably secured to the lower end of the toggle arm, a plurality of female bearings on the lower end of the toggle arm, a lower toggle arm rotatably secured at its upper end to said shaft and having a plurality of male bearings at its upper end engaging the female bearings, a plurality of female bearings in said end of the lower toggle arm and engaging the male bearings of the upper toggle arm, a plunger rotatably secured to the bottom of the lower toggle arm, and means for swinging the shaft to move the toggle over dead center to move the plunger.

2. In a press having a frame, a verticaly toggle construction comprising an upper toggle arm rotatably mounted at its upper end in the frame, a plurality of male bearings on the lower end of the toggle arm, a shaft rotatably secured to the lower end of the toggle arm, a plurality of female bearings on the lower end of the toggle arm, a lower toggle arm rotatably secured at its upper end to said shaft and having a plurality of male bearings at its upper end engaging the female bearings, a plurality of female bearings in said end of the lower toggle arm and engaging the male bearings of the upper toggle arm, a crosshead carrying a plunger and having an elongated male bearing surface, an elongated female bearing surface on the bottom of the lower toggle arm with each of said bearing surfaces extending through less than 180, means for maintaining said bearing surfaces in engagement, and means for swinging the shaft to move the toggle over dead center to move the plunger.

3. In a press having a frame, a vertical toggle construction comprising an upper toggle arm rotatably mounted at its upper end in the frame, a plurality of male bearings on the lower end of the toggle arm, a shaft rotatably secured to the lower end of the toggle arm, a plurality of female bearings on the lower end of the toggle arm, a lower toggle arm, rotatably secured at its upper end to said shaft and having a plurality of male bearings at its upper end engaging the female bearings, a plurality of female bearings in said end of the lower toggle arm and engaging the male bearings of the upper toggle arm, a crosshead carrying a plunger and having an elongated male bearing surface, an elongated female bearing surface on the bottom of the lower toggle arm with each of said bearing surfaces extending through less than 180, a shaft secured to the crosshead and extending axially outwardly of the male bearing surface thereof, a pair of female bearings secured to the bottom of the lower toggle arm axially outwardly of the female bearing surface thereof and encircling the last named shaft to maintain said bearing surfaces in engagement, and means for swinging the rst mentioned shaft to move the toggle over dead center to move the plunger.

4. In a press having a frame, a vertical toggle construction comprising an upper toggle arm rotatably mounted at its upper end in the frame, a plurality of male bearings on the lower end of the toggle arm, a shaft rotatably secured to the lower end of the toggle arm, a plurality of female bearings on the lower end of the toggle arm, a lower toggle arm rotatably secured at its upper end to said shaft and having a plurality of male bearings at its upper end engaging the female bearings, a plurality of female bearings in said end of the lower toggle arm and engaging the male bearings of the upper toggle arm, a crosshead carrying a plunger and having an elongated male bearing surface, an elongated concave portion formed on the bottom of the lower toggle arm, a concave female bearing surface removably secured in said concave portion, with each of said bearing surfaces extending through less than 180, means for maintaining said bearing surfaces in engagement, and means for swinging the shaft to move the toggle over dead center to move the plunger.

5. In a press having a frame, a vertical toggle construction comprising an upper toggle arm rotatably mounted at its upper end in the frame, a plurality of male bearings on the lower` end of the toggle arm, a shaft rotatably secured to the lower end of the toggle arm, a plurality of female bearings on the lower end of the toggle arm, a lower toggle arm rotatably secured at its upper end to said shaft and having a plurality of male bearings at its upper end engaging the female bearings, a plurality of female bearings in said end of the lower toggle arm and engaging the male bearings of the upper toggle arm, a crosshead carrying a plunger, an elongated male bearing surface removably secured to the upper portion of the plunger, an elongated concave portion formed on the bottom of the lower toggle arm, a concave female bearing surface removably secured in said concave portion, with each of said bearing surfaces extending through less than 180, means for maintaining said bearing surfaces in engagement, and means for swinging the shaft to move the toggle over dead center to move the plunger.

6. In a press having a frame, a vertical toggle construction comprising an upper toggle arm rotatably mounted at its upper end in the frame, a pair of male bearings on the lower end of the toggle arm, a shaft rotatably secured to the lower end of the toggle arm, a pair of female bearings on the lower end of the toggle arm, there being a female bearing immediately adjacent each male bearing with one of said pairs of bearings being spaced apart to provide a free section of said shaft, a lower toggle arm rotatably secured at its upper end to said shaft and having a pair or male bearings at its upper end engaging the female bearings, a pair of female bearings in said end of the lower toggle arm and engaging the male bearings of the upper toggle arm, a plunger rotatably secured to the bottom of the lower toggle arm, a drive pitman having a bearing at one end rotatably engaging substantially the entire free section of the shaft, and means for reciprocating the pitman to move the toggle over dead center to move the plunger.

7. In a press having a frame, a vertical toggle construction comprising an upper toggle arm rotatably mounted at its upper end in the frame, a pair of male bearings on the lower end of the toggle arm, a shaft rotatably secured to the lower end of the toggle arm, a pair of female bearings on the lower end of the toggle arm, there being a female bearing immediately adjacent each male bearing with one of said pairs of bearings being spaced apart to provide a free section of said shaft, a lower toggle arm rotatably secured at its upper end to said shaft and having a pair of male bearings at its upper end engaging the female bearings, a pair of female bearings in said end of the lower toggle arm and engaging the male bearings of the upper toggle arm, a crosshead carrying a plunger and having an elongated male bearing surface, an elongated female bcaring surface on the bottom of the lower toggle arm with each of said bearing surfaces extending through less than 180, a drive pitman having a bearing at one end rotatably engaging substantially the entire free surface of the shaft, a shaft secured to the crosshead and extending axially outwardly of the male bearing surface thereof, a pair of female bearings secured to the bottom of the lower toggle arm axially outwardly of the female bearing surface thereof and encircling the last named shaft to maintain said bearing surfaces in engagement, and means for reciprocating the pitman to move the toggle over dead center to move the plunger.

8. In a press having a frame, a vertical toggle construction comprising an upper toggle arm rotatably mounted at its upper end in the frame, a plurality of male bearings on the lower end of the toggle arm, a shaft rotatably secured to the lower end of the toggle arm, a plurality of concave portions formed on the lower end of the toggle arm, female bearing surfaces in said portions, a lower toggle arm rotatably secured at its upper end to said shaft and having a plurality of male bearings at its upper end engaging said bearing surfaces, a plurality of concave portions formed on the upper end of the lower toggle arm, female bearing surfaces in the last named portion and engaging the male bearings of the upper toggle arm, a plunger having an elongated male bearing surface thereon, an elongated concave portion formed on the bottom of the lower toggle arm, a female bearing surface in the last named portion, means for removably securing each of said female bearing surfaces in their respective concave portions including a pair of securing members for each bearing surface with each securing member having a lip portion overlying the opposite ends of the bearing surfaces, and means for swinging the shaft to move the toggle over dead center tc move the plunger.

9. In a toggle press having a pair of toggle arms, means for rotatably connecting together the adjacent ends of the toggle arms comprising a plurality of female bearing receiving recesses formed in said ends of the toggle arms, a female bearing surface in each recess and means for removably securing the bearing surfaces in said recesses including a clip removably secured to the toggle arms at one end of the recess and having an integral lip portion partially overlying the recess and adapted to contact one end of a bearing surface therein, a second clip at the other end of the recess and having at one end thereof an integral lip portion partially overlying the recess and adapted to contact the other end of a bearing `vsurface therein, a second integral lip portion formed at the other end of the second clip, a wedge adapted to be driven into position between said second lip and the toggle arm to force the bearing surface into contact with the lip on the iirst clip, and screw means for securing the second clip in wedged position.

10. In a toggle press having a pair of toggle arms, means for rotatably connecting together the adjacent ends of the toggle arms comprising a plurality of female bearing receiving recesses formed in said ends of the toggle arms, a female, bearing surface in4 each recess and means for removably securing the bearing surfaces in saidrecesses including a clip removably secured to the toggle arms at one end o f the recess and having an integral lip portion partially overlying the recess and adapted' to contact one end of a bearingl surface therein, aj second clip at the other end of the recess and having at one end thereof an integral' lip portion partially overlying the recess and adapted to contact the other end of a bearing surface therein, a second integral lip portion formed at the other end of the second clip, a pair of spaced screw devices threadedly supported in said other end of the second clip, a wedge adapted to be driven into position between the ends of the screw devices and the toggle arm to force the bearing surface into Contact with the lip on the `first clip, and screw means for securing the second clip in wedged position.

References Cited in the ile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 13,544 

